Federal Regulations Significant to Veterans [January 2006]

• Notice of Computer Matching Program - The Department of Veterans Affairs published a notice in the Federal Register on January 31, 2006, that the Department will conduct a computer matching program with the Internal Review Service, to compare Internal Revenue Service records with VA pension and parents' dependency and indemnity compensation records.
  Effective Date: The match will start no sooner than 30 days after publication of this Notice in the Federal Register, or 40 days after copies of this Notice and the agreement of the parties are submitted to Congress and OMB, whichever is later, and end not more than 18 months after the agreement is properly implemented by the parties.
  Address: Director, Office of Regulations Management (02D), Room 1068, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420; or fax comments to (202) 273-9026; or e-mail comments to OGCRegulations@mail.va.gov.
  Contact: Pamela Liverman (212A); telephone: (757) 858-6148, extension 107.

• Notice of Computer Matching Program - The Department of Veterans Affairs published a notice in the Federal Register on January 31, 2006, that the Department will conduct a computer matching program with the Internal Review Service. Data from the proposed match will be utilized to verify the unearned income (such as interest income and dividends) of nonservice-connected veterans, and zero percent noncompensable service-connected veterans, whose eligibility for VA medical care is based on their inability to defray the cost of medical care. These veterans supply household income information that includes their spouses and dependents at the time of application for VA health care benefits.
  Effective Date: This match will start no sooner than 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, unless comments dictate otherwise.
  Address: Director, Office of Regulations Management (02D), Room 1068, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420; or fax comments to (202) 273-9026; or e-mail comments through: http://www.Regulations.gov.
  Contact: Gary Baker, Director, Health Eligibility Center; telephone: (404) 235-1300.

• Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs Public Meeting - The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) published a notice in the Federal Register on January 30, 2006, that the Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs has scheduled a public meeting on February 7 and 8, 2006. The meeting will be held in Washington, DC.
  SBA Contact:: Cheryl Clark, Program Liaison, in the Office of Veterans Business Development, Small Business Administration, 409 3rd Street SW, Washington, DC 20420; telephone: (202) 205-6773; e-mail: cheryl.clark@sba.gov; fax: (202) 254-0473. .

• Geriatrics and Gerontology Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting - The Department of Veterans Affairs published a notice in the Federal Register on January 25, 2006, that the Geriatrics and Gerontology Advisory Committee will meet on April 4 through 5, 2006 in Washington, DC. The meeting will feature presentations on VA research initiatives in areas that affect aging, dementia treatment initiatives, VA nursing home care unit cultural transformation, and performance oversight of the VA Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Centers.
  Contact: Marcia Holt-Delaney, Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care (114), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420; telephone: (202) 273-8540.

• National Research Advisory Council; Notice of Meeting - The Department of Veterans Affairs published a notice in the Federal Register on January 24, 2006, that the National Research Advisory Council will meet on February 1, 2006, in Washington, DC. The agenda will include a review of and discussion about the National Research Advisory Council annual report for 2005, an overview of research, education, and clinical centers, and an update on deployment health and Gulf War research.
  Contact: Karen Scott, Designated Federal Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420; telephone: (352) 392-8066; e-mail: karen.scott@va.gov.

• Examining System - The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published a final rule in the Federal Register on January 23, 2006, to designate two sections of the Alternative Ranking and Selection Procedures from the Chief Human Capital Officers Act of 2002 (Title XIII of the Homeland Security Act) as veterans' preference requirements for purposes of a prohibited personnel practice violation, thereby aligning these sections with other statutory provisions covering veterans' preference.
  Effective date: February 22, 2006.
  OPM Contact: Linda Watson; telephone: (202) 606-0830; facsimile: (202) 606-2329; TTY at (202) 418-3134; or e-mail: linda.watson@opm.gov.

• VA Directive and Handbook 5021, Employee/Management Relations - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published a notice with request for comments in the Federal Register January 17, 2006, that Section 302 of the Veterans Health Care, Capital Asset and Business Improvement Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-170), dated December 6, 2003, authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to appoint chiropractors as permanent full-time title 38 employees under 38 U.S.C. 7401(1). Also appointed under this authority are physicians, dentists, podiatrists, optometrists, nurses, nurse anesthetists, physician assistants and expanded-function dental auxiliaries. Upon successful completion of probationary status as required by 38 U.S.C. 7403(b), these title 38 employees may file an appeal to a Disciplinary Appeals Board if they are subjected to major adverse action that is based in whole or in part on a question of professional conduct and competence.
  As part of its implementation of Public Law 108-170, the Department of Veterans Affairs proposes to revise its Directive and Handbook 5021, Employee/Management Relations, to clarify that chiropractors now have the same right to appeal major adverse actions to Disciplinary Appeal Boards and grieve certain actions as other title 38 employees.
  Comment Deadline: February 16, 2006.
  Address: Director, Office of Regulations Management (02D), Room 1154, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420.
  Contact: Larry Ables, Director, Employee Relations and Performance Management Service, Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Human Resources Management and Labor Relations (051), 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20480; telephone: (202) 273-9827.

• Health Services Research and Development Service Merit Review Board; Notice of Meeting - The Department of Veterans Affairs published a notice in the Federal Register on January 13, 2006, that the Health Services Research and Development Service Merit Review Board will meet on March 7 through 9, 2006, in Atlanta, Georgia. The purpose of the Board is to review research and development applications concerned with the measurement and evaluation of health care services and with testing new methods of health care delivery and management, and nursing research. Applications are reviewed for scientific and technical merit.
  Contact: Scientific Merit Review Program Manager (124R), Health Services Research and Development Service, Department of Veterans Affairs, 1722 Eye Street, NW, Washington, DC 20420; telephone: (202) 205-0207.

• Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans, Notice of Meeting - The Department of Veterans Affairs published a notice in the Federal Register on January 13, 2006, that the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans will meet on February 8 through 10, 2006, in Washington, DC. The Committee will receive reports from program experts, assess the availability of health care and benefit services, receive reports from other federal departments and advocacy groups and review other initiatives designed to assist veterans who are homeless.
  Contact: Pete Dougherty, Designated Federal Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420; telephone: (202) 273-5764.

• VA Acquisition Regulation: Plain Language Rewrite - The Department of Veterans Affairs published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on January 13, 2006, of our intent to revise the Department of Veterans Affairs VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR). The Federal Register publication notes that we have rewritten much of the VAAR to conform to plain language principles.
  Comment Deadline: March 14, 2006.
  Address: Director, Office of Regulations Management (02D), Room 1068, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420; or fax comments to (202) 273-9026; or e-mail comments to OGCRegulations@mail.va.gov, or through: http://www.Regulations.gov. Comments should indicate that they are submitted in response to ``RIN 2900-AK78.''
  Contact: Acquisition Policy Division (049A5A), Office of Acquisition and Material Management, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW</ acronym>, Washington, DC 20420; telephone number (202) 273-9515.

• Reservists' Education: Revision of Eligibility Requirements for the Montgomery GI Bill--Selected Reserve - The Departments of Defense, Homeland Security (Coast Guard), and Veterans Affairs (VA) published a final rule in the Federal Register on January 10, 2006, to implement provisions in the Veterans Benefits and Health Care Improvement Act of 2000 and the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003. The Veterans Benefits and Health Care Improvement Act of 2000 contained a provision that changed an eligibility criterion concerning the time for obtaining a high school diploma. The Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 expanded the Montgomery GI Bill--Selected Reserve eligibility period from 10 years to 14 years for reservists who first become eligible after September 30, 1992.
  Effective Date: January 10, 2006.
  Contact: Lynn Nelson, Education Advisor, Department of Veterans Affairs (225C), 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420; telephone: (202) 273-7187.
  

• Reasonable Charges for Medical Care or Services; 2006 Calendar Year Update - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published an interim final rule in the Federal Register on January 6, 2006, relative to the Department's medical regulations concerning ''reasonable charges'' for a nonservice-connected disability:
  • for which the veteran is entitled to care (or the payment of expenses of care) under a health plan contract;
  • incurred incident to the veteran's employment and covered under a worker's compensation law or plan that provides reimbursement or indemnification for such care and services; or
  • incurred as a result of a motor vehicle accident in a State that requires automobile accident reparations insurance.
  Data for calculating actual charge amounts at individual VA facilities based on these methodologies will either be published in a notice in the Federal Register or will be posted on the Internet site of the Veterans Health Administration Chief Business Office, currently at http://www.va.gov/cbo; fax: (202) 254-0473.
  Effective date: January 1, 2006.
  Contact: Romona Greene, Chief Business Office (168), Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420; telephone: (202) 254-0361.

• Allowance for Private Purchase of an Outer Burial Receptacle in Lieu of a Government-Furnished Graveliner for a Grave in a VA National Cemetery - Public Law 104-275 (enacted October 9, 1996) allows the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide a monetary allowance towards the private purchase of an outer burial receptacle for use in a VA national cemetery. The Department of Veterans Affairs published a notice in the Federal Register on January 3, 2006, that the net allowance payable for qualifying interments occurring during calendar year 2004, is $162.22.
  Contact: Lisa Ciolek, Capital and Performance Budgeting (41B1B), National Cemetery Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420; telephone: (202) 273-5161.

• Government Owned Invention Available for Licensing - The Department of Veterans Affairs published notices in the Federal Register on January 3 and January 11, 2006, of two inventions owned by the U.S. Government as represented by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and available for licensing in accordance with 35 USC 207 and 37 CFR part 404 and/or Cooperative Research and Development Agreements Collaboration under 15 USC 3710a to achieve expeditious commercialization of results of federally funded research and development. Foreign patents are filed on selected inventions to extend market coverage for U.S. companies and may also be available for licensing:
  • U.S. Patent Application No. 10/486,593 ``Method of Preventing the Occurrence of Symptoms of Psychosis.''
  • U.S. Patent No. 6,770,622 ``N-Terminally Truncated Galectin-3 for use in Treating Cancer ''
  Contact: Amy Centanni, Director, Technology Transfer Program, Office of Research and Development, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420; e-mail: ami.centanni@mail.va.gov; fax: (202) 254-0473.

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